Representation Theory Gauntlett

1) What is collective identity? Write your own definition in as close to 50 words as possible.

Within social movement theory, collective identity refers to the shared definition of a group that derives from its members' common interests, experiences, and solidarities. It is the social movement's answer to who we are, locating the movement within a field of political actors. 

2) Complete the task on the factsheet (page 1) - write a list of as many things as you can that represent Britain. What do they have in common? Have you represented the whole of Britain or just one aspect/viewpoint?

The Beatles.
Big Ben (officially, the Elizabeth Tower).
James Bond.
Britannia.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
British history.
The British sense of humour.
Buckingham Palace.
British Bulldog.
The coastline.
Cricket.
Crumpets.
The cup of tea.
Fish and Chips.
Football.
Full English breakfast.
The black, London Hackney Carriage taxi.
Sherlock Holmes.
The Houses of Parliament.
Scottish kilts.
The Mini.
The Pound sterling.
The Pub.
Punch and Judy.
The Queen and the Royal Family.
Received Pronunciation, or the Queen's English.
The Red Arrows.
Royal Mail red pillar box.
The red telephone box.
The red AEC Routemaster double-decker bus.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Stonehenge.
The Sunday roast.
The Tower of London.
The Union Flag.
Whisky.

3) How does James May's Top Toys offer a nostalgic representation of Britain?

James May's Top Toys offer is a good representation of Britain because it is a show that was shown by the BBC which is a British broadcaster. It  is a BBC documentary in which James May explored and celebrated his favourite toys, including Etch-A-Sketch, Airfix model aeroplanes, Lego, Meccano, Top Trumps, Scalextric, model cars, and Hornbymodel trains. The show was presenting some of the toys that were made in Britain which were invented for young kids and what their function was and how successful they were and how they are used today not just in Britain but also abroad and in other countries.

4) How has new technology changed collective identity?

New technology has changed collective identity hugely because I think that technology has widened hugely meaning that people have access to many things and they can view a lot of things so I think that people get judged by who they follow and what they do online and I think that the collective identity has changed because of this and I think that it has changed people's attitudes and opinions. Also, new technology doesn't just change collective identity but it causes a lot of other problems. New media technologies are having a major impact on society as a whole. The integration of such technologies into social settings within society, such as the household, is having a major influence on social interaction between individuals. It is evident from existing literature that new media technologies impact on the social interaction within households in many different ways. New media technologies can assist in increasing interaction amongst families by bringing generations and family members together. As a result, it can help bridge generational and digital divides. On the other hand however, new media technologies within a household can lead to a growing privatisation within family life, with individuals increasingly using technology independently rather than collectively. For that reason, I set out to investigate the research question; ‘How are new media technologies impacting on social interaction within households?’ I want to explore if new media technologies do in fact bring family members together and increase social interaction amongst one another, or if it leads to a family divide instead. 

5) What phrase does David Gauntlett (2008) use to describe this new focus on identity?

"Media messages are diverse, diffuse and contradictory. Rather than being zapped straight in to people's brains, ideas about lifestyle and identity that appear in the media are resources which individuals use to think through their sense of self and modes of expression."

Because "inherited recipes for living and role stereotypes fail to function", we have to make our own new patterns of being, and it seems clear that the media plays an important role here. 

6) What does Gauntlett suggest about creativity and identity?

Gauntlett suggests that creativity and identity need improvement. “We should look at media not as channels for communicating messages, and not as things. We should look at media as triggers for experiences and for making things happen. They can be places of conversation, exchange, and transformation. Media in the world means a fantastically messy set of networks filled with millions of sparks – some igniting new meanings, ideas, and passions, and some just fading away”. People having a route to self-expression, and therefore a stronger sense of self and participation in the world, through making & exchanging online “Media [made by all of us] … can be places of conversation, exchange, and transformation” “a fantastically messy set of networks filled with millions of sparks – some igniting new meanings, ideas, and passions, and some just fading away”. The need for better “platforms for creativity”

7) How does the Shaun of the Dead Facebook group provide an example of Henry Jenkins' theory of interpretive communities online?

Henry Jenkins (2006) argues that the boundary between text and reader has broken down, not merely in the way the reader constructs the text but in the growth of fan cultures. These could be seen by how ‘fan genres grew out of openings or excesses within the text that were built on and stretched, and that it was not as if fans and texts were autonomous from each another; fans created their own, new texts, but elements within the originating text defined, to some degree, what they could do’.The key aspect of this group is the fact that the
collective identity created is one which has no national barriers to the understanding of the cultural identity created. The British identity of the film thus becomes one that is recognised and supported by a global institution, namely Facebook. Most of the wall posts are quotes from the film that are repeated for anecdotal
evidence of ‘love’ for the film. The creation of this group conforms to the following ‘repeated’ view from Henry Jenkins: ‘fan genres grew out of openings or excesses within the text that were built on and stretched, and that it was not as if fans and texts were autonomous from each another; fans created their own, new texts, but elements within the originating text defined, to some degree, what they could do’.